Three Beautiful Options for Protecting your BlackBerry Pearl

One of the reasons for the enormous success of the Blackberry Pearl is its diminutive size. It is the smallest fully capable smartphone and fits so nicely in a pocket or jacket. It also feels like it might break into many pieces if it were dropped on the ground (which invariably occurs with all phones.)

So, how do you protect it with the same panache and style as the Pearl itself? Sena Cases, a maker of quality cases for Phones and PDAs has released three new options for the Pearl. It is not secret that I love my Pearl – I use it constantly and I would be very upset if something happened to it. I do worry that it doesn’t feel as ‘substantial’ as some other smartphones I have used in the past – so, a case is a necessity. I have used Sena cases before and reviewed them on this site.

Sena has just come out with a version of their ‘Flipper,’ ‘Skin’ and ‘Pouch’ cases for the Pearl. One of them might be just right for you.

About Sena Cases:

Formed in 1999, Sena Cases is a luxury mobile device accessory designer offering classy, stylish protective leather cases for today’s most popular mobile devices including phones, MP3 players, PDAs and more. The unique cases not only offer an upscale, quality appearance, but also provide exceptional functionality.

Brothers and Owners Ramsey and Fevzi Oten are the grandchildren of an entrepreneur in the leather industry. As gadget enthusiasts, the brothers were always displeased with the availability for sleek, trendy, upscale mobile device accessories that not only looked great but also enhanced the device usability.

Utilizing focus groups and other market research studies, Sena’s founders realized the mobile device accessory market was filled with products that hinder the device performance. Most consumers select devices that are small and slim. However, many of the accessories create extra bulk, include difficult snap closures and lack the necessary customization to allow access to certain device ports.

Unique to the mobile device accessory market, Sena Cases has taken great care to produce protective cases that are completely customized to individual devices. The cases are comprised of exclusive calfskin Napa leather imported from Italy and Turkey. The accessories are designed with exceptional quality and help magnify the device’s most popular product attributes such as size, port controls, and operating functions.

Sena Cases are available for a myriad of mobile devices and come in many leather color and style variations.

Sena Leather:

Sena has scoured the globe searching for the most exquisite leather available. European leather artisans have assisted in the quest. After searching through some of the most coveted leathers in the world, Sena found the ultimate premium Napa calfskin leather in Italy and Turkey. The leathers are carefully hand-stitched to create the full line of cases.

Each case is ‘broken’ in with its owner’s use. The leather is unique as it begins to form and customize to the owner’s particular usage routine.

‘Flipper’ Case:

The following is from the Sena Web Site describing the features of the Flipper Case:

One of the things I have always loved about the Sena Design is that its ‘Flipper’ type cases flip downwards. There is nothing more annoying when using a case that flips up and the case just flops as you try to talk on the phone.

With a downward flipping design, the Sena case opens just like you would expect and hope. When closed, strong magnets keep the case secure and provide protection for the screen.

The added benefits to magnets on a BlackBerry case is that they allow the device to function in ‘holster’ mode when in the case. If you don’t have a BlackBerry, this ‘holster’ setting is magnetically triggered and allows the unit to vibrate when emails come in and calls as well (if you set the device to do that.)

The Sena Case is also designed with a snap enclosure that snaps over the top onto the back of the case – holding the Pearl securely in the case. It is designed with cutouts for all major buttons, microphone, speaker and message indicator LED.

Sena also incorporates extra protection by including a sewn in plastic screen protector.

Craftsmanship:

These are quality leather cases. The stitching is perfect, the leather looks and smells great and all the cutouts are perfect. The Sena case feels like a very high quality leather product – there are no sharp edges and it just feels great when you hold it.

Convenience:

Some cases can make using your phone more difficult – not so with the Sena flipper case. It ships with a very secure belt clip which was a cinch to disconnect. Just flip open the front and use your BlackBerry as you normally would. There is little extra bulk with this case – so it can still fit in your pocket if you would prefer not to use the belt clip.

Overall Conclusions:

The Sena Flipper case is a beautiful and functional case for your BlackBerry Pearl. The only thing I would change would be to eliminate the plastic screen protector – I found that the screen was not as sharp with this protector over it. It also seemed to affect the automatic light adjustment that is built into the Pearl.

LeatherSkin: This form-fitting case is comprised of ultra-thin premium leather providing a soft layer of ‘skin’ to gently protect devices from scratches. The fine, slender design offers a tight fit enhancing the curves o the device. Perfected for many of today’s most popular devices.

Design:

This case is designed to be slim – yet protective and it achieves this goal. Like the Flipper case, it has perfect cutouts for all the major function buttons – camera, microphone, speaker, voice dial button, etc.

This case, like the Flipper case, also has the protective plastic screen protector stitched into the front of the case for added protection.

Quality:

Quality was superior – just like the flipper case.

Convenience:

Since there is no ‘front’ to this case – it is slimmer. The pros are that it is smaller and fits in a pocket just like the Pearl itself. The cons are that you don’t have the added protection and padding over the front of the case. You don’t have to open the case to use it which is very convenient and preferred by some.

Overall Conclusions:

This is another beautiful case. It is definitely slimmer, but I do feel like the front of the unit, especially the trackball and keyboard are ‘unprotected’ by this case – but it is really a matter of personal choice.

Final Grade: A-

Pros: Great look and feel, beautifully crafted, perfect cutouts, slim

Cons: No front protection

The Sena Leather Skin case can also be found at: www.senacases.com and the price is $39.99

Sena ‘Leather Pouch’

The Leather pouch is a very different approach to protecting the BlackBerry Pearl. Here are the specs on this case:

The Leather Pouch is a very simple design – the BlackBerry slides inside the case, completely protected (except for the very top.) The case is made of a very soft, padded leather and offers lots of protection around the BlackBerry.

The Case has a built in belt clip on the back which cleverly moves to the side for either vertical or horizontal use.

Craftsmanship:

Like the other Sena Cases, the Leather Pouch is made of top quality leather and feels great.

Convenience:

This is where the user needs to make a decision as to how they use their BlackBerry. I found it inconvenient to have to remove my Pearl completely from the case to use it. If I were to remove it, I could then drop and break it with no protection on the Pearl whatsoever.

If, you keep it in this case and use a Bluetooth headset, there is no need to continually take the Pearl out of the case (except to check email.)

Overall Conclusions:

This is another beautiful case but it did not suit my use of the BlackBerry like the other two. Sliding the BlackBerry in and out would invariable activate one of the side keys – so I had to remember to ‘lock’ the Pearl before putting it into this case.